CaptainHowdy.com The #1 Exorcist Fansite Since 1999
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I found this… Is any of it true, if so, is it a sure thing that these scenes weren’t shot?
“There was also an ending they thought up back then in which Dyer is jogging along a path, and comes across a talkative jogger. There’s some sort of odd conversation about the persistent strength of good and evil, and then Dyer flips, turns to the jogger, who’s now transformed into a pillar of light and speaks with Damien Karras’ voice, saying, ‘we are the light, Joe.’ ::retch at will:: They even thought about shooting this scene recently, playing it as though it were 25 years later, with Father William O’Malley, who played Dyer. That didn’t happen. They also reconsidered yet ANOTHER ending, which consisted of a single shot Friedkin’d wanted to add back when they were originally making the film — with Dyer looking down the steps, and seeing Karras walking up (symbolic and what not) . They also considered doing this with O’Malley and Jason Miller, twenty-five years later. This also didn’t happen.”
ps. maybe this is the wrong thread, any chance of the original 1973 grainy version being brought back into production? No harm in asking 😉Justin, I agree it would have been cheesy, but I would have liked to see it anyway 😉 Not necessarily as part of the movie, but as rare footage on a SE-type dvd. Sigh…
Yeah, those scenes were never shot but have been mentioned a few times in various books. I am glad they were never shot, really. They would have been cheesy.
Taking WPB’s side for a moment, it was a shame that all too many viewers thought that the demon won. This is even after showing them that Karras 1) invited the demon to “come into me”; 2) the demon did just that (viz. Karras’s demon makeup); 3) Karras takes the demon out the window with him; and 4) Karras is back to his old self when he dies – he is conscious and makes a last confession to Dyer via hand clasping.
Maybe it would have been helped by a line of dialogue from the novel, where Karras says, “I won’t let you hurt them [her] – you’re coming with me!” Then audiences would almost _have_ to understand that Karras tempts, grapples with, and finally defeats the demon.
If that understanding had been made explicit and unavoidable, then there would have been no need to consider those tack-on endings of the posthumous Karras walking up the steps or jogging, etc.
I don’t feel like the demon won. Not the war of the film we watch, anyway. We see Regan afterwards, normal and pleased and doesn’t remember a thing. A priest found his faith and saved the girl.
Furthermore, not once does the film directly dictate to the audience exactly what they should be feeling at any point. It is left to the individual viewer. This has always been one of its unique qualities. To suddenly paint a perfect picture and demand the audience feel safe and happy as the credits roll contradicts the two hours previous.
In terms of letting the audience take away from a film whatever they bring to it, The Exorcist is a rare flick that actually achieves this. That’s what makes it a masterpiece, and one of the greatest horror films of all time.
Except that it foiled the author’s intent, namely Blatty’s insistence that audiences definitely understand that Karras, not the demon, won. This bothered WPB at the time of the film’s release, and for years afterward.
Nor do I think that adding the line “I won’t let you hurt them [her]” or “You’re coming with me!” supplies a “sudden perfect picture” – for the simple reason that these lines are present in the novel, and represent WPB’s authorial intention.
Ambivalence vis a vis the exorcism’s final outcome is valid as part of the first part of telling the story – the suspense builds to climax and denoument.
But at the climax and denoument, to maintain ambivalence is a cheat to both the book reader and the film viewer. Friedkin championed the ambivalence-to-the-end view. Blatty championed the “Karras definitely won, the demon definitely lost” view. As the creator and sole proprietor of his own material, Blatty’s view should enjoy the prime position.
I thought Karras won the first time I saw the movie. The demon tried to make him kill Regan, but he fought it off and with a very enthusiastic “NO!” saved Regan. btw, granville1, you should check my other post “Blatty and Blair” where Blatty talks about the ending being misinterpreted. Anyway, I like the movie as it is. I’m sappy and a “Wonderful life” type ending would have been interesting to see, too… Like a dvd with the menu option “Sappy ending” or “usual ending” 😛 Rare footage being rare footage, I’d take anything 😉
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